It’s the 8th round in a packed Madison Square Garden. David “Junito” Santos is tiring and his opponent has been on the receiving end of a barrage of punches all night. Santos throws a few jabs, a shot to the body, then rocks back to roll off a punch his opponent throws in desperation. Santos parries the hook away—everything is about to change. Time slows as the sound of the crowd seems to fade away. The flashes behind the camera are more delayed and fans at the fight begin to stand. The camera slightly zooms, as if a spectator watching the fight were to gasp and lean forward, knowing they’re about to witness something amazing. The muscles in Junito’s midsection tense as he quickly throws an uppercut that strikes his opponent’s jaw. The announcer cries out as sweat flies off the boxer’s head as he stammers backwards, trying fruitlessly to get his feet under him. Before his stunned opponent can even raise his hands to protect himself, Santos has followed the brutal uppercut with a strong leftstraight—his signature punch. Sound comes rushing back as the boxer strikes the canvas mat. It’s over. The replay shows the moment of impact, complete with the jaw and cheek rippling under the glove as a mix of spit and blood fly from the mouth. Decision by knockout, Santos begins his career with a bang.
Did I get your attention yet?
This was my experience in my first fight of Fight Night Round 4. Everything I’ve described is how it appeared, sounded, and felt on the screen. I’m no boxer, but after performing what I had just done in the ring, I sure wanted to be. EA Canada has done it again; they’ve managed to completely immerse me into a world of 1’s and 0’s. The fleshy, static robots in Fight Night Rd. 3 have completely transformed into living human beings. Muscles tighten (seriously, …I’m not kidding) before a punch, sweat beads off the boxers in their corners between rounds, and connected punches sound and look painfully real.
Game pacing and strategy have been highlighted this time around, making the game play more like a simulation of the real thing rather than an arcadey title. Button mashing no longer works (partly because EA has revamped the punch control, making it analog only) as a workable strategy. The boxer who waits for his openings and successfully counters punches will be victorious. Welcome to Fight Night.
New Legacy Mode
The most welcome addition to Fight Night veterans is the introduction revamped career (Legacy) mode. Where this mode really shines is in its challenges, requiring the boxer to meet certain conditions before they “level” up the ranks. Rather than just beating your opponents to a pulp to reach the top, the endgame here is to win over the hearts and minds of the fans to make a lasting impact on the sport itself. Doubling as a pseudo manager mode, you’ll also choose opponents, the arena, and when exactly the fight will take place. Occasionally, your fighter will receive challenges from opponents that put your ranking on the line (often times immediately after a bout, leaving you no time to train).
Exhibit B: Oscar De la Hoya
The more time you give yourself between fights, the more time you have to improve your stats in the training games. This, however, brings out the first glaring issue with the game—the training games are frustratingly difficult even with the game’s selectable pros, let alone the rookie fighter with poor stats. This slows down your overall progress in the game, as you’re ultimately forced to grind out matches with lesser opponents to slowly make yourself better. That aside, there are more games to play this time around to help you focus on certain weak points your boxer might have.
As with Rd. 3, the minigames have different tiers you can achieve, awarding a different amount of stat boosts at each level. However, often times you’ll be better off just selecting auto train and settling for half the maximum available stats per game. Be sure to train, though—rolling through opponents and moving up too quickly will leave you unprepared for what you’ll find at the top.
The Counterpunch, Physics, and Eye Candy
Countering punches has become a new focal point for the series. Successfully dodging or blocking a punch at the right moment will briefly slow time down—slightly, they didn’t Max Payne it—and maximize your stamina for an opportunity to throw an absolutely punishing counterpunch at your opponent. When you do it the first (or fourth, or twelfth, or…it never seems to get old, really) time you’ll be hard pressed to not squeal (er, grunt) with excitement. These punches can and will destroy boxers and change the flow of fights. While you may be able to get away with throwing a flurry of punches early in your career, you’ll quickly be forced to set up punches and become more strategic in what you decide to throw. You’re sure to be on the receiving end of a 10-count thanks to this feature.
Player models are absolutely stunning. I mean absolutely stunning. Detailed, rippling muscles, sweat spray on punches and contact, as well as new arenas to box in are what make this game so enjoyable to play.
Now, lets get serious—eyecandy alone will not make for a great game. Accordingly, EA decided to revamp the physics of the game as well. Punches are a breeze to throw with the right analog stick. There are a variety to choose from and each has a logical command swing. Glancing blows still cause damage, but less so and without the weird clipping issues. A punch to the head will toss and swivel that head from side to side and body shots will cause the opponent to tighten up his abdomen (again, flexing muscles, …unf). Jaws will look loose on contact, cheeks will ripple, eyes will puff up and close shut, and veins can look like they’re about to pop at times. Knockout-causing swings are physics driven. Gone are the days of preset animations as players go down. The final crushing blow determines how a player hits the mat. Bruises are visible and blood will spatter with that sweat if you’ve been working a particular side of the opponent’s face all night.This game really needs to be seen to be believed. It’s ridiculous.
Player creation is more of the same, but that’s a good thing. While gear no longer gives stat bonuses to your character, there are plenty of options to choose from. Nearly everything is customizable, including preset nicknames the announcers will call you during your career. EA’s Photo Game Face will allow you to import your own ugly mug into the game as well. Be warned, though, no damage physics are lost in doing this. You will look like a prune if you don’t take care of your virtual self each fight. Laser light shows, smoke, pyrotechnics, and ring entrance music (from a great soundtrack, in keeping tradition with Rd. 3) can be adjusted. You can even choose how your fighter will walk towards the ring and with what color robe he’ll wear while he does it. It’s almost as much fun creating your fighter as it is to beat down opponents in the ring (particularly if you’re wearing leopard print shoes and trunks while you’re doing it).
The Downside
All that praise aside, there are a few relatively small issues I have with this release. At times, the menu system can be cumbersome. Much like its predecessor, the game has a different look and feel from what has become the de facto standard EA Sports has gone to in titles like FIFA, NASCAR, and Madden (which, arguably, aren’t necessarily known for their ease of use, either). While I mentioned how awesome the countering system was, it can feel frustrating against computer opponents who, seemingly at times, will land nearly every opportunity they get. Really, though, the largest issue is with the difficulty of training games that makes grinding for stats a bit cumbersome after 25 fights.
The Crown Remains
Fight Night Round 4 is an absolute blast to play by yourself and twice that with friends. While I don’t think this game will necessarily turn you into a boxing superfan, it definitely has enough to get (and keep) your attention if you enjoy the sport. I can confidently say this is the boxing game to own. The player models alone will make you want to turn this on, not to mention the great gameplay and lasting appeal. EA improved on an already stellar release in Round 3 and continues to keep the reigning champ of the boxing world on top. Go lace up your gloves, it’s time for a lesson in the sweet science.
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